


I (Don't) Care

by Movie_Riggs



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: AU, F/M, Kinda ignores Liz Allan whoops, Post-Vulture fight, She's great but this ship wins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 10:30:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15727587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Movie_Riggs/pseuds/Movie_Riggs
Summary: Peter swings back to Midtown after his fight with the Vulture to find the dance is over and only one person is left. And she's only hanging around because of him.





	I (Don't) Care

**Author's Note:**

> So this one is basically "what if Peter's crush on Liz was never a thing and he and Michelle basically had a little semi unspoken attraction to one another throughout Homecoming."

Peter managed to get as far up as Coney Island's Cyclone after the fight. It provided him with a nice place to sit and lean back (he was exhausted) and also allowed him a perfect field of vision. What did he have to look at? 

Well, the wreckage of the Stark Industries plane he had just battled the Vulture on, of course. It sat on the beach (in several places at once), the fires dulled but not extinguished. Peter had moved all the tech and gear the plane had been transporting and webbed it up in a nice neat stack. Oh, and he'd tied up Toomes and left him there as well, of course. With a note. As he did.

It wasn't long before the police arrived, and soon after Happy Hogan himself, along with some other SI security employees. It was then that Peter was satisfied. Job well done. He only had to miss his sophomore year's Homecoming. And yeah, that was only his first school dance literally ever, but great power and all that. 

It sounds like he wished he hadn't left in the first place, which of course part of him does. He's a kid. But he knows he did the right thing. It's just hard not to long for the simplicity of high school drama when he might have a broken bone or two. At least it'll heal fast.

He has no clue what time it is, but maybe he could still make it back for the last bit of the dance. Fifteen minutes would be better than nothing. He'll have to get cleaned up, but he left his suit and his backpack just lying around in the hall, and May literally _just_ bought him that backpack, so he's low on options.

Peter takes it easy on himself as he swings back. It hurts but not too badly. Once he's out of tall buildings, he takes off the crude mask of the original Spidey suit and just walks. It's dark and no one is around, and he's tired enough to risk it.

The high school's side door is still unlocked. He suddenly remembers the Shocker, and turns to glance into the bus lot. He's no longer webbed to the bus, but Ned was there and Peter's willing to bet the crook is in custody along with his boss.

Inside, the hall is dark save for patches of moonlight coming in through the windows. Peter picks up his dropped backpack and ducks into the nearest restroom. He changes back into his "normal" suit. 

There are no sounds to indicate that the dance is still going. No faint music or chattering. Peter tosses his backpack lazily over one shoulder (the one that received the least damage from the Vulture's claws) and strolled almost casually down the hall, kicking a fallen blue balloon as he went. If memory served right, he'd thrown his tie down around here somewhere...

"Everyone's gone."

Peter jumps at the voice. For the first time since he's started walking down the hall, he looks up from the floor. Michelle is standing a few feet away, the gymnasium doors still open behind her. It would seem she's correct. Everyone else has left. 

Everyone except her, which is a little odd. Then again, isn't everything about Michelle a little odd?

Peter thinks all of that in a split second, then instantly starts wondering how he's going to excuse his sudden disappearance and subsequent reappearance. Maybe it's because he's tired, or maybe it's because it's Michelle and he's run out of genuinely believable excuses, but he's got nothing.

Michelle steps closer. Peter's just been in the bathroom, and he knows he looks like crap. There's still no good excuse coming to him. Ned suggested the whole "fight club" thing a while back but Peter didn't think it was worth trying.

There's a slightly exaggerated breath of air--maybe a gasp, though it's hard to imagine Michelle gasping--that comes from her and Peter can tell by the look in her eyes that she's seeing the bruises and cuts covering his face.

"I knew it was you," she said, sounding worried but also undeniably proud of herself. "The whole time, I knew it was you. I mean, I didn't _re_ _ally_  know until--"

"DC?" Peter guessed.

She nodded. "Yeah, but even before then...some part of me just knew."

"Let's hope you're the only one," Peter managed a small smile.

Michelle smiled back. She reached for Peter's hand. "Did you get him?"

"Yeah," Peter said, looking down at their intertwining fingers. "Barely."

"No such thing as barely," Michelle said. "You got him, and that's that."

They both paused, and Peter noted how pretty she looked in the moonlight, even if the blue of the night sky clashed with the yellow of her dress. 

"Peter," Michelle whispered. "I want to tell you something."

"Don't," Peter said instantly, because he wasn't right about a lot of things when it came to girls, but he knew he was right about this. 

He was incredibly lucky she liked him too. He especially kept thinking back to their moment at Liz Allan's party. And hell, what about this dance? He was pretty sure the only reason he'd bothered to dress up and show up is because he thought he might get a chance to do...something. He wasn't really sure what his actual plan had been. Ask her to dance? Ask her _out?_ Like he always said, he wasn't right about a lot of things when it came to girls.

The problem in all of this was what had happened tonight _instead_ of his not-plans for the dance. 

_"I'll kill you and everybody you love."_

Yeah, the Vulture was locked up now, but that one got Peter bad. Toomes had looked directly in Peter's eyes when he said that, right before he dropped that ceiling on him, and Peter had believed every word the thief said. 

The Vulture was gone, but how many more might find out who Spider-Man was? 

"Don't," Peter repeated. "We can't."

Michelle looked a little surprised. Not surprised that he knew what she was going to say, but surprised that he was telling her no. "What? Why not?"

"He knew who I was, Michelle," Peter said. "He figured it out. That means he knows the people who are important to me. If I hadn't stopped him--"

"But you _did_ stop him."

"But next time--"

"Peter, stop."

"It's dangerous--"

"I don't care," Michelle stated firmly.

"But--"

"I don't care."

"Please--"

"I don't care."

Peter held her gaze. Michelle's eyes, normally like pools of swirling liquid chocolate, were now on fire. She was trying to make him believe that he could do something as simple, as _normal_ as what she was suggesting and expect no consequences. Peter couldn't believe that. Spider-Man was a risk only to himself, but once the mask came off? He was a risk to everyone. 

_You could get hurt, Michelle._

_I don't care._

_You could die, Michelle._

_I don't care._

Michelle let go of Peter's hand and wrapped both hers around the back of his neck. Peter tried to resist, but weakly. Like his heart wasn't fully in it, because it wasn't. What his heart was really doing was beating out of his chest at a million miles an hour. 

"Peter," Michelle whispered softly. "Listen to me. I don't care."

Then she kissed him, and Peter melted. 

He still wasn't fully sold on the idea. He definitely didn't want to keep away from Michelle, this beautiful girl who shared his feelings. But she was at risk. There were so many what ifs...

Peter supposed he'd just have to make sure he kept a close eye on her.

Maybe two close eyes. 

Because holy hell, was she pretty.


End file.
